Instructor: Dr. Daniel W. Skubik
Office: James Bldg, Rm. #266
Voice: 951.343.4288 / Fax: 951.343.4520
E-Mail: dskubik@calbaptist.edu

 

Political Economy of Public Administration

MPA 585 (Main Campus)

California Baptist University
Fall Term, 2006

This course examines the interrelationship of political and economic factors that influence both public political and economic outcomes. Key means of analyses will include application of micro- and macro-economic theories to obtain better understandings of political and administrative decision-making processes. Topics will include the theory of collective action, comparative economic performance, political business cycles, and theories of economic voting.

By the end of the term, students should be able to ask and answer:

  1. How does government intervene in the economy?
  2. How does government intervention in the economy affect prosperity?
  3. How does government intervention in the economy affect freedom?
  4. How does government intervention in the economy affect personal security?
  5. How does government intervention in the economy affect justice?
  6. What values should most determine government's intervention in the economy?
  7. Who should make decisions about government's role in the economy?

By the end of the term, students will have experienced or developed an ability to:

  1. Engage systematically in analysis of economic and public policy problems and issues:
    1. ability to identify and articulate economic issues in a policy question;
    2. ability to analyze the policy question, to identify and categorize the issues which are questions of fact and those which are conflicts in economic perspectives or values;
    3. ability to formulate creative alternatives, to preserve the pursuit of basic program purposes as constrained by fundamental economic principles;
  1. relate economic criteria to one’s own work and performance, and one’s own agency;
  2. exercise skill in oral deliberation:
    1. listen in a perceptive, learning way, to the comments and presentations of others in the class;
    2. engage in self-expression which shares understanding of the important facts and uncertainties;
    3. encourage and facilitate continuing and constructive dialogue;
  1. conduct a case studies research project on a topic related to economics at one’s own agency or related governmental service.

Required* Texts

*Murray J. Horn, The Political Economy of Public Administration : Institutional Choice in the Public Sector (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions) (Cambridge University Press, 1995)

*Neil K. Komesar, Imperfect Alternatives : Choosing Institutions in Law, Economics, and Public Policy (University of Chicago Press, 1997)

*Gary J. Miller, Managerial Dilemmas: The Political Economy of Hierarchy (Political Economy of Institutions and Decisions) (Cambridge University Press, 1993)

*N.B. Each student should purchase a copy of Horn. Komesar or Miller will be assigned to various students the first week of class. It is nonetheless strongly recommended, though not required, that you purchase all three texts.

All books are available in the CBU Bookstore, and are also readily available from web shops such as Amazon, or Barnes & Noble. Web pages will likewise be referenced throughout the term, contents of which you also will be responsible.

Class Readings & Discussion Schedule

  Week #1
  (Sep 5/7)

Introduction to course: scope, methods, procedures, expectations
Introduction to political economy/macro- & micro-economics

See “The Mismeasure of Poverty,” by Nicholas Eberstadt, in Policy Review (Aug/Sep 2006, #138), online at http://www.policyreview.org/138/eberstadt.html

and “Social Welfare, State Intervention, and Value Judgments,” by Pierre Lemieux, in Independent Review XI (1) (Summer 2006), pp.19-36 (available online through the Library’s Academic Search Premier journals database, http://www.calbaptist.edu/library [ask at circulation desk for necessary logon names and passwords to access databases]

and “Giving Away Money: An Economist’s Guide to Political Life”, an interview with Michael Munger (Duke University), an online podcast from The Library of Economics and Liberty (by Liberty Fund, Inc: http://www.econolib.org ), at http://www.econtalk.org/archives/2006/06/giving_away_mon.html [registration not required, but Apple QuickTime player must be used to hear interview online, or download as mp3 file for other audio player]

  Week #2
  (Sep 12/14)

Read and be prepared to discuss Horn, chapters 1-2 (pp.1-39).
First journal entry due to my email inbox no later than beginning of class.

  Week #3
  (Sep 19/21)

Read and be prepared to discuss Horn, chapters 3-4 (pp.40-94).
Second journal entry due to my email inbox no later than beginning of class.

  Week #4
  (Sep 26/28)

No face-to-face class sessions. Use scheduled time to prepare book reviews and case studies research project.
Third journal entry due to my email inbox no later than beginning of class.

  Week #5
  (Oct 3/5)

Read and be prepared to discuss Horn, chapter 5 (pp.95-133).
Fourth journal entry due to my email inbox no later than beginning of class.
Clear final version of case studies research project with instructor by end of class.

  Week #6
  (Oct 10/12)

Read and be prepared to discuss Horn, chapters 6-8 (pp. 134-193).
Fifth journal entry due to my email inbox no later than beginning of class.
5% bonus for early submission of Individual Book Review by beginning of class.

  Week #7
  (Oct 17/19)

Group Presentations and general class discussions on Komesar & Miller.
Individual Book Reviews due no later than beginning of class. -10% late penalty if presented at end of class. BR’s accepted through beginning of subsequent class, with -20% penalty.

  Week #8
  (Oct 24/26)

Presentations of Executive Summaries of Case Studies Research Projects. Full versions due to instructor no later than beginning of class. Late Book Reviews accepted no later than beginning of class, with -20% late penalty.

 


Assessment & Grading Scale

Participation in Class = 10%

90 - 100 = A range (90-94 = A-)

Participation on Web = 10%

80 - 89 = B range (80-83 = B- / 87-89 = B+)

Journal Submissions = 10% (5 entries x 2% each)

70 - 79 = C range (70-73 = C- / 77-79 = C+)

Book Review = 25 %

60 - 69 = D range (60-63 = D- / 67-69 = D+)

Case Studies Research Project = 45%

0 - 59 = F

 

Case Studies Research Project

Each student will prepare a case studies research project, relating our course studies to the student’s workplace sector. The project should run ~10,000 words (~20-25 pages), analyzing in depth at least two (2) and no more than four (4) separate cases constructed from a public administrative working environment. Project drafts should be cleared with the instructor no later than the 5th week of class, so sufficient time will remain to complete the work. No specific written format is required, save that the project begin with an Executive Summary (a 1-2 page précis), which will be presented as part of an oral report to the class during the final session. [The written project will be marked as 40% of your final grade; the presentation as 5%.]

The final draft should be submitted digitally to Turnitin and in hardcopy to the instructor per the syllabus due date. Note that late submissions are not normally permitted; only the most severe interferences with one’s ability to perform will lead to permission to submit after close of the course. Arrangements to complete this work must be confirmed with the instructor before the end of the final class for late submission to be authorized. In no case can presentation component be made-up, since opportunity to perform during a live class session will have passed.

 

Book Review

Each student will choose/be assigned formally to review either the book by Komesar or Miller. The individual review should run ~2500 words (~5-7 pages), highlighting at least one strength and one weakness of the book’s analyses in relation to the student’s workplace sector. The book review should be submitted digitally to Turnitin and in hardcopy to the instructor per the syllabus due date. Note that late submissions are permitted, but late penalties will apply.

In addition to the individual reviews, one student team of up to three (3) persons for each book can elect to present a formal oral review to the class, and so earn up to 5% bonus towards each individual’s review mark (same earned bonus applied to all team members). If there are more persons wishing to participate than slots available, consultations will be taken to determine a team’s membership.

 

Journal Submissions

Students should begin compiling an electronic journal related to this class. This means that one should be journaling (that is, preparing substantive written entries in some digital format that can be transmitted to the instructor via email) for weeks 2-6, irrespective of whether there is a face-to-face meeting scheduled or the student actually attended that week’s session.

 

A substantive entry is ~200 words (minimum, lengthier entries are welcome) summarizing and reacting to some key points from a particular week’s readings and class discussions, perhaps relating to some political economic real world case or event, some recently read piece of public administration professional literature, or simply related ideas provoked by life. These entries can form a series of reflections, so linking entries along the way one to another like an intellectual diary, or can be independent musings week-by-week.

To be considered timely, any entry should be received in the instructor’s email inbox (dskubik@calbaptist.edu either as plain text within the body of the email or as a Word attachment) no later than the beginning of class of each class week for which credit is sought. Thus, for example, a journal entry for Week 2—when we meet on Tuesday, September 12 and Thursday, September 14th—is due no later than the class meeting itself. Entries for Week 2 that are received after class actually convenes will be accepted as part of the overall journaling project, but that entry will not be marked and counted towards your final grade.

 

Participation in Class & on Web

Although speaking in class, publicly putting and defending a position, can be daunting, you are strongly encouraged to learn to think through your own and others' experiences and insights within the context of our discussions. In short, you are encouraged to demonstrate your internalization of our material for application in the workaday world. In this context, you are not being evaluated for reaching “right” conclusions, but for demonstrating your facility in forming arguments for any conclusions put, given the material we will cover in class.

To give direct incentive to so engage, 10% of your mark for the course will be comprised of assessment for your classroom participation (as cumulative requisites: regular weekly attendance, staying awake, answering and putting questions from/to the instructor, responding to your classmates’ insights and concerns), and 10% for your web participation, during the term.

Web participation means that you go online at least once each week (covering weeks 1-7), and contribute to the online discussions on Blackboard: answering a weekly query put by the instructor, responding to submissions by your classmates, or putting your own query. Don’t wait for the end of the term and then offer multiple submissions; read and submit on a regular basis throughout the term.

 

Caveat

This syllabus is composed in good faith, with a schedule of readings, assignments and discussions which will guide us throughout the term. Still, the instructor reserves the right to make adjustments to this schedule as deemed necessary for the overall enterprise of the course. Any changes will be communicated as far in advance as feasible, and you are responsible for knowing if and when any changes have been made.

 

Make-Ups

Case Studies Research Project – no late work will be accepted for marking, save due to severe intervening circumstances. Arrangements for completing work must be confirmed with instructor before end of final class for late submission to be authorized. In no case can presentation component be made-up, since opportunity to perform during a live class session will have passed.

Journal submissions – no late work will be accepted for marking. No exceptions.

Book Reviews – late reviews will be accepted, with either -10% or -20% penalty, per syllabus timeline. No work accepted for marking after beginning of final class session.